How Southwest Sumba ramped up young people's participation
When we say meaningful participation in Shift, we mean that excluded and marginalised groups of young people get the opportunity to tell us what issues matter most to them. It also means that they then, get the guidance and resources required to design a campaign around their issue and eventually go out into the world to effect positive change.
When we say meaningful participation in Shift, we mean that excluded and marginalised groups of young people get the opportunity to tell us what issues matter most to them. It also means that they then, get the guidance and resources required to design a campaign around their issue and eventually go out into the world to effect positive change.
Of course, none of this is possible if young people don’t even know that such a platform exists in the first place.
To Shift Power, we must begin by Shifting Participation. Fun Adults in Southwest Sumba know this fact very well. Gearing up for their Shift journey, they used an innovative and strategic approach to ensure large-scale sensitisation of Shift among young people in Tambolaka: a Roadshow!
Last year, roadshows were used successfully as a medium of campaigning by Barishal Shifters in Bangladesh to Break Barriers to Girls’ Higher Education. However, Southwest Sumba reimagines this and uses it at the beginning: to CONNECT with those would-be campaigners, encourage them to get involved, and grab the Shift opportunity with both hands.
BY THE END OF THEIR SHIFT SENSITISATION ROADSHOW, THEY REACHED 10 SCHOOLS, 1,159 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.
"I am really interested in and appreciative of the opportunity to assist in preventing child, early, and forced marriages, a practice that is unfortunately still considered acceptable in the region.”
(Female student, 16 years old, SMAS St. Thomas Aquinas)
Not only were they able to generate excitement about Shift in their region, but they also used this opportunity to educate young people and adults about an urgent issue that is seeing rising cases: Child, Early and Forced Marriages (CEFM).
“The activities conducted are positive and inspiring, encouraging children to actively protect themselves from violence. I support this organization and the type of positive activities it carries out.”
(Female teacher, 28 years old, SMAK St. Joseph Freinademetz)
Following their sensitisation roadshow, the proof is in the pudding: 17 groups of young people have put in their applications for the upcoming Shift project! An impressive number for anyone implementing Shift. Out of this, only 2 groups will be selected to undergo Shift which is “a pleasant problem for us to have on our hands” as Andre (Fun Adult) puts it.
Southwest Sumba highlights the importance of adult-led, innovative outreach in creating spaces where young people feel seen, heard, and motivated to take action. This is how real change begins: with youth at the forefront, confident and supported in their journey to create a better future.
